A Christmas Story
by Tender Falling Rain
Summary: Just a waffy Inuyasha Christmas story, written somewhere in the middle of the storyline. I warn you, it is a little high on the waffy scale. Anyway, please enjoy. R/R!


A/N: Okay, just a little story I wrote in honor of the Christmas seasons. Warning though, it's awfully waffy. Some of you might like that but personally I try and steer away from overdoing the whole waffiness thing. Oh well, its Christmas so I decided to write a story that would make people feel good. Anyway, enjoy and please review!

* * * *

"Please, please, PLEASE!!?"

"No, no, NO!"

"Oh come on!" Kagome begged. "It's only for five days!" she said holding up the fingers on her left hand to demonstrate.

"Feh. It's bad enough when you're gone for three days. No way am I going to let you take off for a whole five days. We need to concentrate on finding those shards and beating Naraku!"

"I know! But it's just this one time, I promise. And then I'll be back and I'll stay for a whole week, if you like."

"No. You can just stay for a whole week now! You're not going back, end of story, now come on, let's go!"

Kagome bawled her fists and narrowed her eyes trying to control her temper as she spoke through clenched teeth. "Inuyasha! I am going home whether you like it or not, and that's final. I shouldn't HAVE to ask for your permission at all, it's my life and I'll go wherever I want whenever I want for however long I want. The only reason I'm asking you is because I'm trying to be nice. So, you can either accept it or I can say the magic word and go home without your approval. Your call."

He glared at her and she glared back, both locking eyes in a battle of wills. Inuyasha took the opportunity to think things over. She was right of course. All she had to do was say one little word and she'd be gone before he knew it. His back began to ache just in anticipation of it all. At least if he let her leave they could part on good terms and not be mad at each other for the whole five days she was gone… "_Five days_," he thought. It seemed like such a long time…

"Why so long this time?" he finally asked, more curious than angry. "You have some more of those stupid test things?"

"Well, uh actually, no, not really… I don't have school this week."

Inuyasha blinked. She didn't have school? She always had school. That was the only reason she ever had for leaving. He tried to remember a time she had wanted to leave before to do anything other than take a test but couldn't picture a single time. "No school? What's the occasion then?"

She fidgeted nervously. "Well, you see… it's kind of a holiday…"

"A holly what?"

"A holiday! See, there's a bunch of them in our time. It's a special day in the year when you celebrate something. This time it's Christmas, my absolute favorite holiday of all. I just can't miss it!"

"Cris mast?"

"No, Christmas! See, it's actually a holiday that originated in the west to celebrate the birth of Christ, the god of their religion. However, not many Japanese are Christians, so we kind of adapted the holiday to our own customs… You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"I uh well… *ahem* So this holi…day thing lasts for five days?"

"No, not really. Christmas is actually in four more days, but I still haven't had the chance to go shopping, and then…"

"Shopping? What do you need to go shopping for?"

"Oh, well, you see, on Christmas, you exchange gifts with other people, so I…"

"Gifts? Why?"

"Well… Because you see…" she flushed trying to figure out a way to explain the concept of exchanging gifts to Inuyasha. There was no way someone like him would understand something sentimental like giving someone something to show them that you cared. "Look," she said finally giving up on coming up with a good explanation. "Just forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway! This is just important to me, okay? If you think I'm going to spend my Christmas traipsing around with you guys looking for Shikon shards, you're wrong. Christmas is a time to spend with people you care about." As soon as she said the words she wished she could take them back. Especially when she saw the look on his face. He stumbled backwards slightly looking as if he had been slapped. She flinched. "T-That's not what I meant. It's just…"

"No, forget it!" he shouted. "I mean you're right, I'm just some stupid half demon. What would I know about Christmas or gifts or the whole idea behind it? Feh, spending time with people you care about…" he grumbled. "Well fine then! Go! Go spend time with your precious loved ones. I wouldn't want you to waste any more of your time here with me…" As soon as he finished he turned and ran away, quickly disappearing into the trees before Kagome had a chance to respond.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted. "Come back! That's not what I meant… Inuyasha!" There was no response and she knew he was already probably out of earshot anyway. "Honestly," she muttered under her breath as she began to race after him. "He didn't have to take it like that or anything. He should've at least given me a chance to explain. Now I'm going to be…" she paused and looked at her wristwatch. "Late!" she shouted. "Oh no! I was supposed to meet my friends at the mall 15 minutes ago!" She gave one last look in the direction he had disappeared and then hurried back to the well. "I hope he's not too upset…" she thought. "Oh well, I don't have the time to worry about it right now. I'll come back later and apologize…" With that decided she jumped through the well and hurried off to the mall to meet her friends.

* * * *

"Stupid Kagome," Inuyasha mumbled from his place up in a tree. "Feh, who cares about her and some dumb old celebration anyway?" He sighed and flattened his ears against his skull, letting his anger gradually slip away, only to be replaced by a wave of sadness. "Then again… It did sound kind of nice…"

"Ah, Inuyasha, there you are!" Miroku called up to him. "Did Kagome-sama go home already?"

"Feh, who cares about that stupid wench?"

"Ooh, I see. You two must have gotten in another fight."

"Feh."

"What'd you do this time, Inuyasha?"

"Me!? I didn't do anything! Why do you automatically assume it's my fault, huh?"

"You're telling me it was Kagome's fault then?" Miroku asked in a doubting voice.

"Yeah, so what if I am?"

"I just find that rather hard to believe considering Kagome's always so sweet and even tempered and you're…"

"A half demon."

Miroku blinked for a moment, surprised by Inuyasha's choice of words. "Actually, I was going to say rude and temperamental."

"Feh. Whatever."

"Say, what did happen Inuyasha?" Miroku asked more gently. Usually when Kagome and Inuyasha had an argument, Miroku just had to bug Inuyasha to go and apologize to Kagome, since usually their arguments were due to something he had done or said. However, this time, it seemed as if there was something more to the whole story.

"You wouldn't believe me anyway. After all, Kagome's little Miss Sweet and Innocent and I'm… What was it you said? Rude and temperamental? Feh."

Miroku sighed. "Very well. I'm sorry for doubting you Inuyasha. What happened between you and Kagome-sama?"

He didn't answer right away. "She said she didn't care about me."

"Hmmm? What, she just came right out and said, 'Inuyasha, I don't care about you'?"

"Well, not exactly like that, but that's what she meant."

"Well then, tell me exactly what happened so I can figure out how to help you."

"I didn't ask for you help, you stupid monk."

Miroku sighed again. Dealing with Inuyasha was like dealing with a three year old at times. "Fine, fine. But whatever happened, Inuyasha, I'm sure she didn't mean it that way. Kagome-sama cares a great deal about you."

"Feh. She sure has a funny way of showing it."

"And so do you! After all, I can't understand what that girl sees in you in the first place. You anger easily, you're always yelling at her, you never put her considerations first when she needs to go home, you're always jealous of her and Kouga, and yet you still haven't resolved the whole issue with Kikyou. Frankly, I can't blame her if she did say something like that."

"Hey! Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No, not at all, after all, you don't need my help, remember? I'm just saying, if you're bothered by what Kagome-sama said, maybe you should work on being the type of person she would care about, rather than being angry at her for not seeing you that way." Inuyasha remained silent and Miroku smiled, confident his words were sinking in. "Well then, I suppose I'll be going. I'll be back at the village if you need me." With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Inuyasha alone with his thoughts.

* * * *

Souta was sweeping out the shrine with a broom that was several feet taller than him when suddenly a familiar glow came from the well. He jumped in surprise, knowing that Kagome had already come home. "That would mean…" he trailed off and cautiously looked down in the well, his eyes widening in excitement as a familiar form materialized before him. "Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha looked up upon hearing his name. At first he was surprised and a little frustrated that the boy had seen him, but then he began to smile. "_Hey,"_ he thought. "_Maybe this kid can help me out. Now if I could just remember his name… What was it again? Oh yeah that's right!"_

"Hey Souta," he called as he jumped out of the well to stand beside the boy in one simple movement.

"Wow, that's cool!" The young boy said.

"Heh, no big deal. So, is your sister around?"

"No, she went out shopping with her friends. Sorry."

"No, no, that's fine. Listen, don't tell her I was here, alright?"

"Um, okay," the boy said in confusion fiddling with the broom.

Inuyasha noticed and grew curious. "What are you doing with that?"

"Oh, the broom?" A huge smile spread on the boys face and he puffed out his chest in pride. "Well, you see, I didn't have very much money saved so I'm doing a few chores around the house to earn money to buy Christmas gifts."

"Christmas, again, huh?" Inuyasha sighed. "This holiday's really a big deal, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah! It's the best! And I already know what I'm going to get everyone too! I'm going to get Mama this new hat she's been wanting, and I'm getting Grandpa a new ink set, and I'm going to get Kagome a camera like she's been wanting, and then for my friend Ki…"

"Camera? What's a camera?"

"Oh, that's right! You guys don't have that kind of stuff back then, do you? Well, let's see. A camera's like this little machine that takes a picture."

"A picture?"

"Yeah, kind of like a painting, only it's done by a machine instead of a painter and it's done instantly."

Inuyasha scratched his head. "What would Kagome want with some silly contraption like that?"

"Well, she wanted to take Mama's camera back to your time, but Mama was afraid it'd get broken, so she wouldn't let her."

"She… wanted to take it to my time? Why?"

"Well, so she could take a picture of all you guys so she could have something to remember you all by when she was here."

"Feh, yeah right. I bet she doesn't think of me… er us at all while she's here. After all, this is her real home…"

"No! That's not true. When she's here it's all she ever talks about. Inuyasha this and Inuyasha that. Say, is it really true that you saved her from some giant centipede thing?"

Inuyasha stuttered and flushed slightly. "Well, uh yeah, but that was a while ago, and since then…"

"Wow! That's so cool! And what about that Seshamru guy and the Thunder brothers, oh and that Naragu guy and all those other monsters? Is all that true?"

"Well, yeah I guess so…" Inuyasha began to smile. "_Does Kagome really talk about me that much?"_ He wondered._ "I always figured when she was here she just forgot all about that kind of stuff. But then again..."_

"Hey, kid. You think you could do me a favor?"

Souta's face brightened. "Sure! Anything you need, what is it?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping you could explain this whole Christmas thing to me?"

"Okay…" the boy said, slightly confused. "But, why do you want to know about that?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "No reason really. Your sister was just making such a big deal out of it. I thought I'd figure out what all the fuss was about. So how about it? You tell me about Christmas, and I'll help you clean out the shrine. Deal?"

"Yeah!"

* * * *

Kagome made her way up the 100 steps to her home with a large assortment of colorful bags while humming to herself in delight. "Well, all and all, that was a pretty successful shopping trip. I got something for everyone except for Souta." She sighed. "I have no idea what to get him this year. Last year he was into dinosaurs, and the year before that he was into horses…" She trailed off and sighed again. "I guess I haven't been around that much. I have no idea what he likes now. Aside from video games." 

She reached the top of the steps and looked at her bags again and a feeling of accomplishment washed away her worries. "Oh well, I'll think of something. There's still time. So, all I need is something for Souta…" She paused as she looked over to the shrine. "No, Souta and Inuyasha… I still need to get him something." She thought for a moment. "Ah! I have no idea what to get him either! What does he like? Besides fighting and sleeping and eating, he's never showed any interest in anything else. At least I know he likes ramen. But then I always bring him ramen. Ah! What to do, what to do…" She began to grow frustrated and kicked a stone as she made her way over to her house. "It's not like he'll care what I get him anyway. He'll probably just think it's stupid. Besides, it's not like that jerk would think to get me anything either. But then again, I guess I can't really blame him for that. I never did explain the whole concept of giving gifts to him. Still, I bet if I had he still wouldn't have gotten me anything…" 

Her thoughts trailed off as she opened the door to her house and stepped inside. "I'm home!" she called.

"Ah, welcome back," her mother's voice called from the kitchen.

"Hey sis," Souta called from the next room. 

Kagome removed her shoes and followed the sound of her younger brother's voice hoping to get some kind of clue about what to get him. "Hey Souta!" she smiled walking over to her brother who was coloring on the floor. "Whatcha drawing?"

Souta smiled and held up his drawing with pride. "It's Inuyasha! See, here's his ears and this is his sword. Isn't it cool?"

Kagome stumbled backwards in surprise. "I-Inuyasha?" She began to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I think it's cute. But why are you drawing a picture of Inuyasha?"

"Because Inuyasha's cool! Besides, you're always talking about how brave he is and everything."

Kagome coughed nervously and blushed. "Well, I uh, never really said that…"

"Well, yeah but from all the stories you've told me he sounds brave and all. He's my hero!"

Kagome smiled at the strange turn of events. Still, she wasn't sure Inuyasha was necessarily the best role model in the world for her younger brother. After all, he was awfully violent. And rude, and that mouth of his… But then again, her brother was right. He was awfully brave, and even if he didn't admit it, he really did care about his friends and would do anything to protect them. Not to mention he was loyal and he was…"

"Souta!" Kagome's mother called. "Souta, come help me set the table for dinner, alright?"

"Coming mom!" Souta rushed out of the room leaving Kagome alone. 

She bent down to pick up the picture Souta had been working on and smiled. It did look like him. The clothes, the ears, the face. She smiled as she noticed the special attention her brother had given to the sword. If Souta was going to have a hero, she figured there wasn't anyone better for him to look up to than Inuyasha. After all, he really was a good person at heart.

It was then that she remembered earlier that day when they had fought and her smile began to fade. "He looked so… hurt. I don't think I've ever really seen him looking so sad…" She sighed. "I really should go and apologize." She dropped the piece of paper and ran to the kitchen.

"Mama, I just remembered something I have to do, I'll be right back, okay?"

"Oh! But Kagome, we're about to have dinner!"

"I know, sorry mom. I'll hurry." Before her mother could give some kind of response, Kagome was out the door and on her way to the shrine in her yard.

* * * *

"What do you mean he's not here?" Kagome asked her friends who were all gathered around in Kaede's hut playing "Go Fish" with a deck of cards Kagome had brought them a while ago.

"He left about an hour ago," Miroku said while arranging his cards. "Sango, do you have any threes?"

Sango scowled and handed the priest one of her cards. "Yes, he said he had something to take care of and that he'd be back in a few days." Meanwhile, Miroku accepted Sango's card and arranged it in his hand.

"Okay Sango, how about fives?"

"Go Fish."

Miroku frowned and drew a card.

"Is that so?" Kagome asked, feeling disappointed. "He didn't say anything before he left did he?"

"What do you mean?" Shippo asked. "Miroku, do you have any threes?"

"No!" Miroku said. Both Sango and Shippo glared at him until he began to sweat. "Oh fine!" He shouted slamming the two cards down in front of the little kitsune. Shippo squealed with joy and paired the two cards with two of his own to make a set.

Miroku turned his attention away from Shippo's celebration. "Actually, Kagome-sama, he seemed rather upset earlier about something. However, he wouldn't tell me what."

"Sango, do you have any eights?" Shippo asked.

"No. Go Fish. Houshi-sama, do you have any sixes?"

Miroku cringed and handed Sango three of his cards which she accepted with a huge smile.

"Upset?" Kagome asked. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, he seemed to be bothered by something you had said to him."

"Houshi-sama, do you have any Kings?"

"No, I do not. Go Fish." Sango frowned and reached for a card. "Sango, do you have any Jacks…" 

"Wait!" Sango called holding up her card. "I got a King! That means I get to go again!"

"What? Since when has that been a rule?"

"Since always! Right Kagome-chan?"

Kagome sighed in frustration. "Right, sorry Miroku but those are the rules."

"See, I told you so…"

"Well that's not fair, I didn't know! And besides…"

"Agh! Would you guys stop playing that game for just a minute!" Kagome shouted finally losing her patience. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Kagome blushed a bit and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Now, Miroku, would you please tell me what exactly it was I said that upset him?"

"He wouldn't tell me everything. He just said something about you not caring about him."

"I never said that!" she shouted. "I just said I wanted to spend Christmas with the people I cared about and…" she trailed off and hung her head. "I guess that did sound kind of bad, didn't it?" The three nodded their heads cautiously so as not to anger Kagome again with any sudden movements. "Alright, well, will you just tell him I didn't mean it, and that I'm sorry?" They all nodded again. "Thanks you guys." They continued to stare at her. 

"Is that all?" Shippo asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. That's all. You can uh go back to your game now." 

"Yea!" They all shouted turning back to their cards.

Kagome sighed in disappointment silently hoping that Inuyasha was alright, and that he wasn't too upset with her as she turned to leave.

"So, Houshi-sama," Sango said grinning evilly. "Do you have any Jacks?"

* * * *

Kagome sat at her desk staring off into space, tapping her pencil on her notebook. Yesterday she had gone out to find her brother a gift and then had spent the rest of the day helping her mother around the house getting ready for the Christmas celebration, and wrapping presents. She had made incredible progress not having anything, or anyone, to interrupt her activities, and now there was hardly anything left to do. When she had originally asked Inuyasha for five days away, she'd expected she would need all of that time. But Christmas still wasn't until tomorrow and there was nothing left for her to do. She figured she should be grateful for the extra time to spend with her family and catch up on her studies, but somehow, all she could do was think about Inuyasha. "Where could he have run off to, anyway?" she wondered. "Probably went off to find Kikyou or something," she muttered bitterly. Then another thought occurred to her. "Or what if he went to fight Naraku by himself? What if he's sick, or injured, or…" she bit her lip unwilling to let herself finish the thought. She shook her head and looked back to her math problems. "No, that dummy's too stubborn to die. I'm sure he's fine. I'm just worrying about nothing." 

With renewed determination she began to tackle the math problems but her mind soon began to waver again. "But if he's not with Kikyou or after Naraku, where could he be? I hope he's back by tomorrow. It'll be Christmas then and I wanted to stop by for a little while to give everyone their presents and… Oh no! I still haven't gotten him anything! Stupid me! If I don't get him anything he'll never forgive me. Especially considering he's still upset about me leaving and all those things I said!"

"Sis?" Souta's voice came from her door.

Kagome spun around, surprised by her brother's sudden appearance. "Souta! Gosh, you scared me! What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you could give this to Inuyasha for me." He held up a card for her to see. Kagome took it and smiled. It was the finished product of the picture he had been working on earlier. However, now it had been folded into the shape of a card. On the front, it said Merry Christmas, and on the inside was the picture he had drawn of Inuyasha and a short note saying, "_To Inuyasha: I just wanted to say that I think you're really cool and thank you for protecting my sister. From Souta._"

"Oh, Souta! That's great!"

"Really? You think he'll like it?"

"Of course he will!" 

"_And if he doesn't,"_ she thought, "_Then he really is heartless."_

"I sure hope he does."

"Don't worry, he will. I'm actually a little jealous."

"Why's that?"

She sighed. "I still haven't gotten him anything."

"What!? But Christmas is tomorrow!"

"I know, I know! I just don't know what to get him. It's not like he has many possessions anyway, and he doesn't have something to carry stuff around in. Plus, he's never really shown any interest in anything. Well, except for food. I don't know. I just wanted to get him something special I guess."

"Well, why don't you get him something to remember you by then?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know. It just seems like maybe he gets lonely sometimes when you're gone. After all, he always gets so annoyed when you leave and is anxious for you to return. He even comes here to pick you up most of the time because he can't wait to see you again."

Kagome blushed. "No, that's not it. That idiot doesn't care about me. The only reason he doesn't like me to leave is because he needs me to find his precious Shikon shards. It's not because he misses me…"

"Hmmm. I don't know. I think it's because he misses you."

"No, it's not, I tell you. What would you know about it anyway? You're just a kid."

"I'm just trying to help."

Kagome sighed and ruffled her little brother's head. "I know, I'm sorry Souta. I'm just a little upset right now is all. Thanks for the idea."

"You're welcome," Sota beamed as he turned to leave. He stopped just by the door. "Oh, and don't forget to give him the card!"

"Don't worry, I won't." She smiled as he left. "_Inuyasha… Misses me when I'm gone? Nah, it can't be. He just wants me to spend all my time searching for the shards. That's all he really cares about…"_ Then she remembered the time when Kikyou had taken the Shikon shards from her and given them to Naraku. When Kagome had seen Inuyasha again, she had apologized for losing the shards, and he had told her it was more important that she was alright. "_Maybe he does care more about me than the Shikon jewel."_ She shook her head. "_Ah, but still, that doesn't necessarily mean that he misses me. Does it?"_ She turned and tried to go back to her math homework, only now she was more distracted than she had been before.

* * * *

When Kagome woke up the next morning she only stared at her ceiling for a few moments before she remembered what day it was. A large grin spread across her face and she immediately jumped out of her bed and ran to her window. She gasped in delight. "It's snowing!" she yelled. She continued shouting the announcement in glee as she ran down to the bottom of the stairs, slipped on her shoes and rushed out into her front yard to dance around in circles beneath the falling snowflakes. Before too long, the rest of her family joined her in the yard.

"Kagome," her mother called. "Here, put your coat on. You're going to freeze to death!" 

Kagome quickly rushed back to her mother to slip on her coat, bouncing up and down in delight. "Mama, it's snowing! It's a white Christmas! Just like in the song! Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yea! Snow!" Souta called as he bounded out into the yard. Kagome's conversation with her mother was interrupted as a snow ball hit her in the back.

"Hey! Souta! Why you little… I'm going to get you," she called as she raced after her little brother; snowball in hand, ready to aim.

* * * *

After playing in the snow for a while, the Higurashi's all went back inside the house to get dressed, drink hot chocolate and exchange presents. In minutes the floor in the tea room was covered with beautiful assortments of torn wrapping paper and ribbon.

"Here, Mama, this is for you," Kagome said handing a brightly wrapped gift to her mother.

"Why thank you, Kagome-chan," she said as she opened the gift. "Oh, Kagome! It's a new sewing kit!"

"Uh huh! I know you needed a new one, and I figured it's the least I could do considering you're always fixing my clothes for me and everything."

"Me next! Me next!" Souta called, thrusting a box in Kagome's hands. "This is for you, sis."

"Why thank you Souta." She quickly unwrapped the present and gasped when she saw the item beneath the tissue paper.

"Do you like it? I knew you wanted one and I thought…"

Kagome carefully pulled the camera out of its box. "Souta! How… This must have cost you a fortune!"

"Well, yeah, but that's okay. I wanted to get you something special…"

"I love it!" she cried as she gave her brother a big hug.

"Agh! Well don't go getting all mushy on me now! Geez."

Kagome smiled and ruffled his hair as she pulled away. "Sorry. Here, this is for you."

Souta took the gift and immediately started ripping it open. "Hey cool!" He shouted as he took a small toy sword from out of the box.

"You like it? I saw it in the store and noticed it kind of looks a lot like the one Inuyasha has. Only it's not real of course."

"Wow! Cool! It looks just like it! What's his sword called again?"

"Tetsuaiga."

"Tetsuaiga," Souta pronounced looking at his own sword in satisfaction. "Awesome!"

"And next time Inuyasha comes to visit, maybe he'll spar with you a bit!"

"Really!? You think he would?"  
"Sure! If you ask really nicely. Besides, that way I can get him to leave me alone for a little while when I need to study."

"Cool! I'm going to start practicing!" He jumped up and began running around, playing with the sword.

Kagome smiled and took a quick picture of her little brother with her new camera. Then she got an idea and turned to her mother.

"Hey Mama, can you do me a favor and take a picture of me by the God Tree?"

"Why sure, Kagome." 

They both went outside and Kagome went to stand in front of the tree. She struck a pose and winked at the camera smiling and making a "V" sign with her fingers. Kagome's mother snapped the photo and then Kagome ran back to her mother to retrieve the camera. "Thank you Mama. Um, do you think it'd be okay if I ran out for a little while? I want to get this developed and then…"

Kagome's mom smiled. "Alright, go ahead. I understand. After all," she said with a slightly sad look in her eyes. "We're not your only family anymore."

"Thanks Mom," Kagome said as she gave her a quick kiss on the check. "I'll be back later!"

* * * *

After Kagome had dropped off her film she stopped by one more store to pick something up and then she was finished. However, she had some time to spare while she waited for the film to develop, so she walked around and looked at the stores. She passed a comic book store and suddenly got a great idea. With a smile she ran into the store.

* * * *

By the time Kagome got back to her house it was already getting to be late in the afternoon. The rest of her family was sitting around chatting, and playing games. Kagome looked at them with a smile and then quickly ran up to her room. She slipped on the new tennis shoes her grandfather had gotten her for Christmas and began stuffing things into the new, larger backpack that her mother had bought her. When she had finished packing, she ran down the stairs waving a quick goodbye to her family as she rushed out the door towards the family shrine.

Once she arrived back in the feudal era she ran all the way back to the village half hoping Inuyasha would meet her along the way. However, before long, she had reached Kaede's hut, and still there had been no sign of Inuyasha. She only hoped it wasn't because he was still mad at her. With a sigh, she entered the cabin, and her suspicions were confirmed. He wasn't there. However, her disappointment was slightly forgotten when she found the rest of her friends sitting around in a circle, playing…

"Go fish!" Sango called in a singsong voice. Miroku sighed and reached for the deck.

"Boy, I really need to start teaching you guys some new games," Kagome said flatly.

"Kagome!" Shippo shouted abandoning his cards to leap in her arms. "You came back early for once."

"I'm not back actually, I'm just visiting. I have to go back tonight…"

"But you brought your bag… Hey! Is that a new bag?"

"Uh huh! I got it for Christmas."

"Christmas? What's that, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked as Kagome made her way over to the other two occupants in the room, letting her bag down gently on the floor.

"Well, you see it's a holiday where you exchange presents with your friends and family. See! Here Sango, this one's for you. And this one's for Shippo, and here, Miroku! Merry Christmas everyone!" She handed each of them a colorful package. Everyone simply stared at her, confused. "Well, go on. Open them! Sango, you go first."

Sango blinked for a moment then unwrapped a small box done up nicely with blue paper and a pink ribbon. She then opened the box inside, revealing a small necklace with a charm on it. "It's beautiful, Kagome, but it looks as if the charms broken."

"No it's not. It's supposed to be that way." She pulled a necklace that had been tucked underneath her shirt out to be displayed. "See, I have the other half. It's a friendship necklace. They're really popular with girls my age. If you put the two charms together, it makes a full circle, and says 'Best Friends.' See!" she exclaimed as she matched the two charms together.

Sango's face lit up. "Wow! That's really clever! Thank you Kagome-chan!" Sango immediately slipped the necklace around her neck and gave the other girl a genuine smile.

"Me next, me next!" Shippo shouted in excitement.

Kagome giggled. "Very well Shippo, go ahead."

"Yea!" Shippo excitedly ripped into the plaid green and white paper and threw the lid off the box. "Wow! Chocolate!" He immediately dipped his hand into the box of assorted chocolates and began happily munching on a piece. "Thwank ywou," he mumbled through a chocolate covered grin.

Kagome laughed some more. "I guess those boxes are more of a Valentine's Day gift, but I figured you'd like them anyway. Just don't eat too many at once or you won't have any left over, okay?"

"Okway!"

"Okay, Miroku, your turn now."

"Okay…" Miroku carefully undid the black ribbon around the midnight blue wrapping paper and proceeded to open the gift as he had seen the others do. When he had opened the box he looked at the contents in confusion. "What are they?"

"They're calligraphy pens!" Kagome stated proudly. "See, they're a somewhat new invention. You use them in place of those messy ink sets and brushes. They don't look quite as good but for the most part the effect is the same and it's much more convenient. I'll have to teach you how to use them, but it's not that hard once you get the hang of it. I figured you could use them to write your spell wards."

"Ah, I understand! Kagome-sama, your time really has some incredible inventions! Thank you! These will surely be useful."

"You're welcome. Oh! And I almost forgot. I brought you guys something else as well." She reached back into her bag and pulled out three fairly thick paper books. "I got them at the last minute so I didn't have a chance to wrap them."

"What are they?" Shippo asked in curiosity.

"They're called mangas. Their kind of like stories but with pictures. I got each of you the first volume of a different story. If you like the story I can go buy you the next volume once you're finished with them. See, Sango, this one's for you. It's my absolute favorite. It's called Ranma ½. It's kind of silly, but I thought you'd like it. Some of the girls in the story remind me of you because they're all so strong and great fighters."

"And here, this one's for you, Shippo. It's called Pokemon. It's really popular with the kids in my time. And here, Miroku. This is for you. It's called Urusei Yatsura. I thought you might like it because… Well, the main male character kind of reminds me of you."

"How so, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked. 

"Well, um the main character's kind of a…"

"Wow!" Miroku said looking at the first few pages of the manga. He then pointed to a girl in a tiger striped bikini and began to drool. "She's beautiful!"

"A pervert," Kagome finished.

"Kagome-chan, are you sure it's a good idea to give him something like that?" Sango asked looking slightly annoyed with her friend. "Won't it just encourage him?"

"Actually," Kagome whispered to Sango. "I was thinking it might help. See the guy in the story gets in a lot of trouble being such a pervert, and he's portrayed as an idiot. Plus, there is this one girl in particular that he likes more than all the other girls." Kagome smiled. "Kind of seemed familiar," Kagome finished with a wink to Sango who began to blush.

"This was very nice of you to do for us Kagome-sama," Miroku said, hesitantly taking his eyes away from the pictures of the girls in his comic book.

"Yes, Kagome-chan, but I feel kind of bad. You didn't tell us about the holiday so we didn't know to get you anything."

"That's okay, this will be my present from you guys," she said as she pulled her new camera out from her bag.

"What's that?" Shippo asked with wide eyes.

"It's a camera! Here," she said while motioning for everyone to sit close together. "Okay, gather around now, closer, okay now smile, okay? Ready, 1… 2… 3!" The camera flashed and Kagome's friends jumped in surprise, blinking as there were suddenly many little lights floating before their eyes. "Opps, sorry guys. Forgot about the flash."

"Kagome-sama, what magic is this?"

Kagome giggled. "It's not magic, Miroku-sama. It's just an invention from my time. See, it takes an instant picture and saves it onto this film inside my camera and then when I go back to my time I can get it developed so that I'll have a picture of you guys." They all still looked confused. "I know, it must be hard to understand. I'll bring the picture for you next time I come though. That'll help me explain it better I guess."

"Hey, Kagome! Do you have a picture with you now?" Shippo asked.

"Um… Sort of, but first, is Inuyasha here?"

"He hasn't gotten back yet," Sango answered.

Kagome's face fell. "Oh… Okay then."

"Why don't you stay for a little while Kagome-sama? I have a feeling he'll be back soon."

"Yeah! Kagome, stay! Play Go Fish with us!"

"I've got a better idea," Kagome said with a smile that was only slightly forced as she dropped to her knees and gathered up the cards, shuffling them expertly. "How about I teach you guys a new game…"

* * * *

"Hmmm, let's see…" Miroku searched the faces of his friends. He was down to only four cards. Sango had the majority of the deck in her hands and seemed less than thrilled about it. Shippo was down to five cards putting Miroku ahead of them all, second only to Kagome who had one card left. And she had the hand after his. Whether or not Kagome won depended entirely on what card Miroku played next. He looked at the girl who displayed a perfect poker face and sighed. "Very well then." He slammed down an eight on the top of the pile of cards. "Diamonds!" he called.

Kagome sat completely still for a moment. And then she smiled. "Diamonds it is," she said, while tossing the four of diamonds onto the stack. "Crazy Eights! Yea! I win!"

Miroku's jaw dropped and he began tearing his hair. Everyone else groaned. "No fair Kagome! That's the fifth one in a row that you've won!" Shippo whined.

"And that's not all. So far you've beaten us at Hearts, Rummy, Old Maid, 5 Card Draw and now Crazy Eights!"

"Well, I guess I'm just lucky tonight," she said.

"I don't like this game," Miroku complained. "Let's play Go Fish again."

"Yeah!" Shippo agreed.

Kagome sighed and looked at her watch. "I guess he's not coming…" she whispered to herself.

"What was that, Kagome-chan?"

"Oh, nothing. I just should probably be heading back. It's late."

"No! Stay, play some more with us, please?"

"I'm sorry, Shippo. But I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, okay? And then we can play all you want, alright?"

"You're really leaving, Kagome-chan?"

"Yeah. I can't wait any longer. My family will start to worry," she said standing up.

"I'm sorry, Kagome-sama. I really thought he'd show…"

"It's okay. It's not that important. I'll just see him tomorrow, right? So, okay, bye you guys, and Merry Christmas!" She exited the hut and began her lonely walk back to the well.

"It's not that big of a deal," she said to herself. "It's just like any other day really. So what if I didn't see him today. I can always give him his present tomorrow." She came to a stop at the edge of the forest. "Still… Somehow, it doesn't feel like Christmas here." Without thinking, she made her way towards the God Tree instead of the well. "It's not even snowing here. That must be it. It was snowing back in my time. That's why it felt more like Christmas." She stopped again when she reached the tree and let out a large sigh. "No, it didn't seem like Christmas there either. It just doesn't feel right without… Inuyasha."

She stared at the tree for awhile, remembering the first time they had met and thinking about all the adventures they had been through together. "It just seems like now we're always together. It's strange to be away from him for so long." She laughed as a thought occurred to her. "And to think, usually he's the one that's making a big deal about me being gone for so long. Now, here I am, back early and he's the one that's gone. I guess I know how he feels now, at least." She shivered and pulled her coat closer around her. "He's really not coming, I guess," she said, brushing back the single tears that fell from her eyes, and tossing her head up trying to smile and think about something else as she turned to go. "Oh well, it's really late. I should go home now…"

She stopped and stood still, listening as she heard a faint rustling behind her. "What was that?" she wondered spinning around to face the noise, her eyes growing wide. She waited for a moment and then gave up. Throwing her hands in the air. "Great, just great. Now I'm hearing things! What in the world is wrong with me?" she mumbled as she turned back to her path, crashing straight into…

"Inuyasha!" She stuttered looking up at him. They were dangerously close, and she immediately pushed away from him feeling flustered. "Geez! You almost gave me a heart attack!" 

"Yo-You're here?" he muttered in surprise, completely ignoring what she had just said.

"Yeah, I uh, came to drop some stuff off and…"

"But… You said that you weren't going to be back for five days. And today's that stupid holiday of yours right?"

"Inuyasha! It's not stupid! It's really…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Here," he said, quickly grabbing her wrist and tying a red band loosely around it. "I'm glad you're here. It saves me the trouble of going over to your time to find you," he said trying to focus on anything but what he was doing.

When he had finished, Kagome slowly raised her wrist to her eye level, moving slowly as if in a trance, so confused was she by Inuyasha's actions. Her eyes grew wide as she looked upon the brilliant red band encircling her wrist. Yet it wasn't the band that caught her attention. It was the small medallion that hung from it that really astonished her. It was a heart shaped stone of dark ebony, surrounded by a golden clasp of expert carvings. Still in awe, she touched the charm, and it suddenly began to glow an emerald green in response. Her breath caught in her throat. "It's… beautiful…" she choked out through her astonishment, still wide eyed.

"Feh, it's nothing."

"No it's not!" she exclaimed in earnest. "It's not nothing! It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."

He smiled slightly, glad to see her so delighted by something he had done. "I'm glad you like it."

"Where did you… How did you?"

He blushed slightly. "Well, uh, the band's made from the fire rat's fur, just like my coat. I know it's really too small to do much in the way of protecting you or anything, but that fur isn't just strong. It has magical powers as well. Or so I'm told at least. It may help to keep you safe…"

"And the medallion?"

He didn't answer immediately. "It was, uh, my mothers. My father gave it to her when they first met. She used to wear it on a chain around her neck. I don't remember ever seeing her without it. It was really important to…" he trailed off, thinking he had said too much.

She looked up at him, her eyes shining. "And you're giving it… to me?"

His heart stopped for a moment and he swallowed hard. "Yeah, well uh, I have no use for such things, you know… And this whole holiday thing seemed important to you and all." He shrugged trying to make it seem as if it wasn't such a big deal.

She smiled brightly examining her gift again. "I love it! But how did you know?"

"Oh, that. Um, well, after you… left the other day, I went and talked to your brother. He explained the whole concept behind the gifts and everything to me."

Kagome's face fell a little as she recalled the day she had left and the things she said. "Look, Inuyasha, about the other day… When I said you're supposed to spend Christmas with people you care about, I didn't mean that you weren't important to me. I was just…"

"I know, you didn't mean it to sound that way. It doesn't matter. Besides, I guess I deserved that. After all, I've been asking around, and apparently I'm not the most likeable guy in the world."

"That's not true!" she exclaimed, quickly falling to her knees to dig through her backpack. "See!" she said while pulling out the card her brother had made.

"What's this?"

"It's a Christmas card! From my brother Souta. Apparently you're his hero these days."

A hint of a smile played on his lips. "Really? Huh. Smart kid," he said with a twist of pride in his voice while looking at the card. "After all, I am pretty cool, aren't I?" he said using the boy's own words for him.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Yeah, yeah. But here. This is from me. It's nowhere near as nice as what you got me," she said with a blush. "I had no idea what to get you… So, I uh…"

She handed him the picture her mother had taken of her that had been placed in a simple wooden frame. He didn't say anything, simply accepted the gift, staring at it in silence. Kagome fidgeted nervously. "I uh, just thought you might want something to remember me by. In case you miss me when I'm gone." He still didn't say anything and she blushed. "Not that you do or anything. I mean I don't know, but I uh… If you don't want it," she said reaching for the picture.

"No!" he said suddenly, pulling the picture away from her grasp in a protective manner. "I want it! And I uh, do. I mean I miss you when you're gone…"

"Really?"

"Of course! Why do you think I always get so upset when you leave?"

"Well, I just thought it was because you were anxious to continue searching for the Shikon shards…"

"Well, there's that too. And it used to be like that. But now… I don't know… It's just that you're always with me now, and when you leave it feels like something's missing. Things just aren't the same when you're not around."

"I miss you too, when I'm gone. That time when you sent me home and blocked the well so that I couldn't come back, I was a mess. All I could think about was you. I couldn't concentrate on anything else…" she blushed and looked away. "I like being here, the most."

"Then stay," he said. It was a simple request, his voice almost pleading. "I mean just not for a while. Stay here always. You don't have to go back. You don't need to take those tests you're always so concerned about. Just forget about them!"

"No!" Kagome said, shaking her head and stepping away. "How can you ask something of that from me?" she said her voice growing angry, tears beginning to slip from her eyes.

"Why not? You just said you'd rather be here!"

"Because I can't! My whole life's there," she exclaimed, shaking in frustration and confusion. "Everything I've ever known! My home, my family, all the memories from my childhood. I can't just leave all of that behind. And for what? For what? You want me to stay here with you and collect the shards forever? What about after that? What do we do when we're finished, huh? What happens then?"

"I- I don't know…" he stuttered realizing how stupid his request had been.

"I just can't believe you'd put that on me all of a sudden! Honestly, Inuyasha! I mean what were you thinking? Do you honestly expect me to make some kind of commitment like that when our futures are still so uncertain? And what about Kikyou? What if you end up with her? Then where would I be? All alone in a strange world, with no one?"

"Kagome…" he said gently reaching for her.

"No!" she said struggling and pulling away. Tears streamed down her face and she couldn't stop shaking. "You don't understand…" she choked. "You don't…" Despite her protests he caught her and pulled her to him holding her tightly. She continued to twist in his embrace for a moment but he wouldn't let her go, and she slowly began to release the tension from her body, collapsing against him in a fit of sobs.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "It was a stupid thing for me to ask, I know. I didn't think before I said it. It's just that I hate having to watch you disappear into that well ever time. But I understand… You can't stay always. It's selfish of me to ask you to give everything up for me when I've made absolutely no sacrifices for you at all." Her sobs slowly began to fade and he pulled back to look at her giving her an encouraging smile. "I'm sorry, okay? Forget I said anything. We don't have to think about those kinds of things now. Let's just take it all one day at a time. Alright?" She nodded and tried to smile at him. "Good, now stop crying okay? I don't know much about Christmas, but something tells me you're not supposed to cry." She laughed and nodded again quickly wiping the tears from her face.

She felt something cold fall on her forehead and looked up in surprise. "It's snowing!" she exclaimed. "Wow, just like in my time. Isn't it beautiful Inuyasha?"

"I don't know… I guess."

"Wow, it's really coming down! Tomorrow there'll be snow everywhere. Oh and then we can all have a snowball fight! And build snowmen and make snow angels! It'll be so much fun!"

Inuyasha chuckled. "You really are strange, you know that?"

"Oh, you think _I'm_ strange, huh?" she smiled unconsciously pulling her coat closer around her to block out the wind.

"Not to mention stupid," Inuyasha said growing concerned. "What are you doing still standing out here?" He said pulling her back into his embrace to warm her up. "You'll freeze to death! You should go home."

She giggled. "You do realize you're actually asking me to go home, don't you?"

"Well, I'd rather you came back to the village with me, but I know you have to go home and be with your family."

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. But not right now," she said sinking further into his chest and wrapping her arms around him. "I'll go back in a little while, but for now, just hold me a little longer?"

The moment was interrupted as a bright flash lit up the clearing. Inuyasha jumped in surprise.

"Wow, this thing's really cool," Shippo stated, holding the camera before him. Miroku bonked the little kitsune on the head. "Hey!" he shouted. "What was that for?"

"For ruining the moment!"

Sango sighed at the two arguing boys and took the camera over to Kagome. "Sorry to interrupt, Kagome-chan, but you left this back at the hut and we thought you might want it back."

"Oh, thanks Sango-chan. It really would've been bad if I lost it now that I've just gotten it."

"Hey Kagome," Shippo said, jumping up on her shoulder. "Are these characters in my manga youkai?" he asked pointing to the pictures in his comic.

"Um… Well sort of. The word Pokemon comes from an English word that means Pocket Monsters."

"What's that?" Inuyasha said looking over her shoulder.

"There called mangas," Miroku explained making his way over to the group. "Kagome-sama brought each of us one for Christmas."

"Really? Hey, Kagome! Where's mine? I want one of those manga things too!"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, Inuyasha, I forgot. Don't worry, I got you one too." She reached into her bag and pulled out another book. "Here you go. It's called Rurouni Kenshin. It's about this wandering samurai guy…"

"Feh. What makes you think I'd want to read about some crummy samurai?" Still, she could see the interest in his eyes and smiled. 

"Well, I tried to get each of you something that reminded me of you guys, and well, Kenshin's always kind of been like my hero," she said blushing. "Because he's strong and kind and does anything he can to protect his friends. You remind me of him more and more. Well, except for the fact that he's sworn off killing anyone."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow. "He doesn't kill? What kind of stupid story is this? A samurai that doesn't kill people? Feh!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Kagome had never really been into Kenshin, but she remembered seeing it a few times with her brother when the anime series had still been playing on television. She hadn't thought about it much until she'd met Inuyasha. She'd always been the type of girl to hate violence and thought it unnecessary. For a while she had tried to convince herself that Inuyasha was totally wrong for her because he was always fighting, and therefore she thought it was impossible for him to be gentle. But then she'd remembered Kenshin, the wandering samurai who wanted nothing more than to give up fighting for good, but continued in order to protect the ones he loved, and suddenly she was seeing Inuyasha in a new light. Maybe the story would have some kind of effect on Inuyasha as well. Maybe it would teach him that not all humans were weak, and that you could be strong even without fighting. 

"Just read it Inuyasha. You may actually enjoy it!" 

"Feh." 

"Anyway, everyone, this time I really should be getting going." She paused and smiled taking the camera in her hands. "But first I want to get a group photo of everyone! Now go stand over by the tree so I can set this up on automatic." Her friends complied and scrunched together while Kagome set the timer. 

"Houshi-sama," Sango growled. "I don't think she needs us to be that close together."

"Heh heh. Um, sorry."

"Okay, ready!" Kagome called as she placed the camera down and ran over to find her place around her friends. She smiled up at Inuyasha and snaked her arm through his own before turning back to the camera. "Okay, now everyone smile and say, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" they all called as the camera flashed causing them all to blink and curse moments later at the bright light.

Kagome laughed to herself as she watched her four friends. It all felt so right. Being there with them. It was as if this had always been her true home. She smiled a little sadly knowing that someday she would have to choose between the two worlds, still unsure what she would do when that time came. However, as Inuyasha had said, that was a decision for another day, and for the time being she was content to take things one step at a time, making new precious memories along the way with her dearest friends… Her second family…

The End

* * * *

Huh, I just realized that I ended this story with the same "One day at a time" scenario I portrayed in my other Inuyasha story, Spring. Didn't intend to do that but oh well. At least I'm being consistent right?

Anyway, I know it's VERY sappy. I actually debated whether or not to put this one up because it's a little too waffy for my own personal tastes. Plus I think Inuyasha's a tad out of character towards the end. Way too nice in my opinion. However, I finally decided to just put it up anyway because Christmas is coming up soon after all. So I hope you enjoyed it and everything. Don't flame me for being cheesy or anything. It's a Christmas story that's supposed to make you feel happy! And flames ruing the holiday for me. But reviews are always nice! Anyway, Merry Christmas! 


End file.
